Professor Andrew Pitsillides, who co-led the research at the Royal Veterinary College in London, said: "These initial results are very positive for such an experiment and we have convinced ourselves that sulforaphane is a promising agent for the treatment of osteoarthritis.

"However, the clinical development of sulforaphane has been held back by the fact that it is inherently unstable. Thus, SFX-01 is a major advance in this area.

"Nearly nine million people in the UK have osteoarthritis and it costs the NHS more than £5 billion every year. There is no cure or effective treatment for the disease other than pain relief or joint replacement, so the potential for SFX-01 is massive."

Results from the study were presented at the 4th Joint Meeting of European Calcified Tissue Society (ECTS) and the International Bone and Mineral Society (IBMS) in Rotterdam.